8 ways to hustle your way into TNW Conference

On May 18 and 19 the digital tech scene – 15.000 professionals – are gathering in Amsterdam for TNW Conference. It was awarded Best European Conference and is also known as Europe’s leading digital technology festival, so it’s not a bad place to be as someone in tech.

A ticket to attend the conference, the parties, the chats, discussions and meetings is going for €545 ex VAT at the moment (but this price is rapidly rising to €1200 in the next few weeks). Although 545 euros is pretty much a bargain to attend an event like this – our price level is actually 57% lower than back in 2006 (our first TNW Conference) – we understand that it can be a challenge to make the investment for young companies and talents.

The good news is that we have many opportunities for companies and individuals to get in cheap or in some cases for free. And we’d love to share all of them with you.

1. Be a baby (seriously)

If you’re really lucky your mom and/or dad will bring you along to the conference. We not only want your parents to have a great time and build better products and businesses, you can join us as well and get the latest on digital technology (or just play with other kids). Children under age 5 receive free entrance and we even offer free daycare, you lucky you. Our founder Boris explains why we offer this.

2. Have great parents

At TNW we have summer jobs for amazing kids to show off their skills for a few weeks during their holiday. It’s become clear to me that age doesn’t matter. You can be 14 and an amazing designer, hacker or (app) developer.

Well, if you’re into tech and you’re under 16 we have a reduced price for you (€49) – all you need is approval from your parents. And ask them to pay while you’re at it. Try something like “Hi dad, I’d like to learn the latest in digital technologies, want to buy my ticket for me?” That should do the trick.

3. Be talented

Are you 25 years old or younger, and in possession of digital skills? Well, that might just get you in to TNW Conference for free (thanks to Accenture and Picnic for supporting talent and being awesome partners). We’ve introduced the T500 (Talent500), the definitive list of Holland’s most inspiring talent across all fields of digital. Whether you’re a hustler, an entrepreneur, a digital designer, a coder or an astrophysics academic researcher, if your work is remarkable, you should be on the list. Submit your info here before the May 1 deadline.

4. Hack your way in

Are you a developer? Working on a bootstrapped startup? Check out the Battle of the Sensors and hack yourself a way into TNW Conference.

By joining the Battle of the Sensors (for free), you’ll not only have a great time hacking, meeting peers and talking to developers from our API partners, but you’ll also receive a ticket to the second day of the conference!

How is that for an opportunity to show off your skills and land a free ticket? Sign up here.

5. Be young and creative

We teamed up with Young Creators to host the YC summit during TNW Conference. A pass to the YC Summit is just 99 euros and gives access to the Summit and afterwards to TNW Conference. You have to be part of the YC community, young creative and a maker to be eligible.

6. We love industry journalists

CNBC named us “The most intimate digital tech festival on the planet”, which is quite a compliment with our immense scale (thanks!). TNW Conference is attended by hundreds of leading media outlets – from BBC to VICE to Tech.eu to TechCrunch – who cover talks, news, startups and general trends. Industry journalists that cover tech for a living can apply for a complimentary press pass (sorry part time bloggers, we do have a discount for you, but no press pass).

7. We love startups

Startup life can be tough. It’s work hard play hard. We’ve been in the stressful situation of making it to the next payday ourselves, so we know how hard it is to build a capable team and successful business out of an idea. Helping startups is at the core of our beliefs and existence (check WTF is TNW).

Spending money on conferences that promise but don’t deliver is something you want to avoid. Our strategy towards startups at TNW conference is quality over quantity. We curate each and every startup that joins our startup programs in order to make sure that investors, corporate brands and media who are looking to meet up with startups don’t waste their time. Our startup programs are sold out, but we do have a great offering for startup founders, the co-founder pack. It includes 2 tickets for €499 ex VAT and gives you access to the networking app and the matchmaking app to connect to investors and corporate brands. To apply for a co-founder pack fill out this form via Index.

8. Young founders.. Volta Ventures wants you

9. Reach out to your suppliers

Take a look at the partners and exhibitors going to TNW. Chances are you are a client of one of them and could reach out to see if they have a ticket left. Exhibitor and partnership packages always include an X number of tickets, so they might have one or two left for current and/or potential clients and partners.

We’re very excited to meet you all at TNW Conference in Amsterdam. If you don’t have a ticket yet and the above tips don’t suit you, register today and start networking and schedule meetings right away.